Regenerative coke oven construction andmeans for controlling the fuel distribution therein



y 1965 F. BREITBACH REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN CONSTR CONTROLLING THE FUEL DISTRIBUTION THEREIN Filed April 14, 1961 INVENTORS BREITBACH KURT LORENZ z z? 41w A TTORNEYS F. BREITBACH ETAL COKE OVEN CONSTRUCTION AND MEANS 3,183,175 FOR REGENERATIVE CONTROLLING THE FUEL DISTRIBUTION THEREIN Filed April 14, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRITZ BREITBACI-I KURT LORENZ a? M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,183,175 REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN CONSTRUCTION AND MEANS FOR CONTROLLING THE FUEL DHSTRIBUTION THEREIN Fritz Breitbach and Kurt Lorenz, Recklinghausen, Germany, assignol's to Fir-ma Carl Still, a German firm Filed Apr. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 103,696 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 16, 1960, St 16,369 13 Claims. (Cl. 202-144) This invention relates in general to regenerative coke oven construction and to a method of controlling the fuel distribution therein and in particular to a new and useful regenerative coke oven construction including a sole channel and a sliding plate arrangement above the sole channel operative in cooperation with adjustable sliding bricks in the upper heating fines for controlling the distribution of the fuel.

Quite a number of different processes and devices for controlled fuel distribution to the regenerator or to the flues of a regenerative coke oven has been put into practice. In some instances a horizontal partition wall in the sole channel under each regenerator has been employed to regulate the flow distribution to the various fuel supply channels leading to the lines. In some instances a series of bricks with openings were arranged above the sole channel and these could be shifted or replaced to vary the flow pattern. However, with such a construction a control of the fuel and the waste gas distribution to promote uniform coking was only possible if a considerable pressure loss in the flow path was accepted. Moreover, the regulation of the flow path is extremely impractical as the single bricks must be drawn out, replaced and inserted again. This necessitated the use of long rods which due to the channel elongation must be made up in several lengths and assembled prior to manipulating the bricks out of the oven. A general disadvantage of the prior art construction is that they did not suiiice to obtain an optimal temperature distribution in the coke oven under extremely unfavorable conditions, for example, such as would exist at greatly increased coking rates.

In accordance with the present invention an improved oven construction is provided which includes walls dividing the regenerator in half and an arrangement of sole channel at the bottom of the regenerator elongated in the direction of the oven chamber axis and subdivided into an upper sole compartment and a lower sole compartment one above the other by a partition wall which does not extend up to the dividing wall of the oven chamber. Over the sole channel there is arranged an adjustable sliding plate having openings which may be regulated, i.e. opened and fully or partly closed, to partly check the gas flow. In the upper heating flues there are provided a multiplicity of slidable regulation bricks each of which may be positioned from the exterior of the furnace along with the sliding plate to adjust the openings in the gas flow path.

The invention has particular reference to an improved sliding plate construction which in one embodiment includes a plurality of I-shaped bricks arranged side-by-side so as to dispose the openings formed between bricks as a path for gas flow and including a cooperative sliding plate disposed above the bricks which may be adjustably positioned from the exterior of the oven to regulate the size of the openings formed by the bricks. The bricks themselves may of course be shifted in order to shift the location of the openings formed therebetween.

A preferred embodiment of sliding plate structure includes a base plate member having'a plurality of openings disposed along the length of the channel above the sole 3,183,175 Patented May 11, 1965 channel and a sliding plate supported on the base plate having openings which align with the openings of the base plate and including closed web port-ions between the openings which may be adjusted to close all or a part of the openings of the base plate. The sliding upper plate is advantageously adjusted from the exterior of the oven.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention it has been found that the uniform heating of the coke chamber may be enhanced by connecting the fuel feeding lines as well as the waste heat control valves to the lower part of the sole channel of the regenerators in order to direct the fuel supply and the waste heat gases to the lower portion of the sole channel and thereupon to the center of the oven and back into the upper portion of the sole channel. In such a manner the heating gases enter the upper part of the sole channel from a central dividing point in the oven with the same speed as the combustion gases in the upper horizontal channel in the oven center which are passing downwardly on the opposite half of the heating wall.

The furnace construction includes a plurality of adjustable sliding bricks with precalibrated openings which feed to an upper horizontal channel which communicates with the other half of the oven to permit similar flow downwardly through precalibrated openings and sliding bricks of the upper heating lines and downwardly to the sole channel on the opposite side of the oven. Thus the inlet speed of the combustion gases in the upper horizontal channel correspond approximately to the outlet speed of the waste gases from the upper part of the regenerator sole channel to the diverting point for the gases at the center of the oven in the vicinity of the partition wall.

Differences in speeds of the gases and the pressures throughout the oven can be balanced off partly or totally by means of a connection of the upper part of the sole channel to the waste heat valve, the connection having an adjustable opening which is automatically closed when the waste heat valve is open. Fine adjustment of the flow distribution is then effected by means of the movable plates constructed in accordance with the invention.

In operation, the heating gases, air or lean gas, are directed through a conduit connected to the lower part of the sole channel and during the inflow of the heating gases the waste heat connection is closed.

It has been found in the operation of an oven constructed in accordance with the invention that fine adjustment and distribution of the fuel may be obtained by means of the sliding plates and similar fine adjustment of the waste heat discharge may be obtained by additional sliding plates arranged in the downflow portion of the oven. In the present oven construction there is no tendency, as was the case in previous divided ovens used up to now, for the fuel and the Waste gases to flow in uneven rates with the ascendence of the fuel being favored at the oven heads and the discharge of the waste gases being favored in the oven center. By the present construction the controlling pressure loss in the sliding plate Openings is much lower compared with the ovens built heretofore and the operation of the oven is more simplified thereby permitting the use of ovens of exceptionally great height and length. The invention becomes more important the higher the oven construction employed.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved regenerative coke oven construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved sliding grate construction for a coke oven.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved coke oven construction including a central partition wall arranged below a common upper horizontal channel and with a sole channel at the lower end of each side thereof, the sole channel on each side being divided into upper and lower portions to permit fuel and Waste gas flow inwardly from a side of the furnace to the central partition wall and then redirected to a plurality of the individual upper heating fiues disposed beneath the upper horizontal channel, and further including adjustable grate means disposed above the sole channel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a re generative coke oven construction including a sole channel having means for directing fuel and waste gases inwardly into a lower portion defined therein and then backwardly along an upper portion and including an adjustable grate and flue wall means for directing a uniform flow of gases downwardly into an opposite divided half of the furnace.

A further object of the invention is to provide a regenerative coke oven dividing grate construction which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its use, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there is illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section of a regenerative coke oven constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the improved sliding grate constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of sliding grate; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of still another embodiment of sliding grate.

Referring to the drawing-s in particular, the invention embodied therein includes a regenerative coke oven generally designated 50 which includes an oven foundation 1 having a plurality of spaced waste gas chambers 2 interconnected by cross channels 3. The waste gases may be cycled to the regenerative coke oven through a conduit 52, the gases being returned to waste heat gas chambers 2' and cross channels 3' through a conduit 54.

The construction includes an oven portion above the foundation which is divided by a central partition wall 7 to separate an upflow portion (on the left hand side of FIG. 1) and a downfiow portion (on the right hand side of FIG. 1). The partition wall terminates at a spaced location below the oven top or roof 56. An upper horizontal channel 18 is defined between the top of the partition wall and the bottom of the roof 56 and extends along the complete length of the oven.

Directly above the foundation 1 on each side of the partition wall 7 there is defined a sole channel which includes a lower channel portion 4, on the gas and waste heat inlet side, and 4' on the outlet side; and an upper channel portion 5 on the inlet side and a channel 5' on the outlet side. The sole channels are subdivided by an adjustable wall or tongue 6 and 6', respectively, which leaves open at the vertical middle partition wall 7 a connection or passage 8 and 8, respectively, between the parts 4 and 5 and 4' and 5, respectively, of the sole channels. The partition wall 7 is advantageously provided with curved diverting wall portions 9 and 9', respectively, to permit smooth gas flow into the upper and lower channel portions, respectively.

Supporting walls 31 (FIG. 2) extend upwardly from the foundation 1 and include lower shoulder brick portions 60 upon which the partition plate 6 is positioned. Directly above the partition plate 6 brick portions 62, 62 form supporting shoulders for a combination grate and sliding plate construction generally designated 64 which is constructed in accordance with the invention.

In accordance with the invention the combination grate and sliding plate construction 64 in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 includes a plurality of I-shaped bricks 66 which are adjustably (e.g. slidably) positioned on the shoulder bricks 62 in a manner forming rectangular openings 68 therebetween. A sliding plate member 70 is disposed above the bricks 66 between side guide brick members 71, 71 and it may be manipulated from the outside of the furnace to open or close one or more of the openings 68 either partially or fully.

In FIG. 3 another embodiment of a plate member generally designated 11 is indicated which includes channelshaped side frames 72, which are slidable on a supporting shoulder 10 and a central web portion 11a having a series of openings 12. A complementary plate 73 having a series of openings 74 is slidable between the channel portions on each side of the web portion 11a and it may be positioned from the exterior of the oven to partially or fully open or close the openings 12.

In FIG. 4 there is indicated still another embodiment comprising a base plate generally designated 11" having channel side portions 75, 75 with a central web section 11a" which includes openings 12b which may be closed by louvres 12' which are adjusted individually or in groups by means of long rods 12a which extend to the exterior of the oven.

The gases fiow upwardly to the regenerative sections 13 (FIG. 1) and then through binder channels 14 which define a plurality of level stage calibrated outlet openings 15 leading to the different heating fiues 16. The upper ends of the heating flues 16 include adjustable sliding bricks 19 which define precalibrated openings 17 leading to the upper horizontal channel 18. The openings are adjusted for a fine calibration and adjustment of the coking time or quantity or heating gases per hour. The sliding bricks 19 may each be regulated from the outside of the oven so that the pressure in all the heating flues on the upward burning side is generally equal.

The reversing middle binder is built without any channels and is formed by the vertical middle partition wall 7. The binders next to the middle binder and next to the oven heads have two channels each.

Heating gases are delivered from a supply means 76 through a conduit 78 to a gas inlet 21 and air or lean gas is delivered through an opening controlled by a damper 29 leading to the lower portion 4 of the sole channel.

During the time that the gases are being admitted through the openings 21 and the one closed by the damper 20 a control spout 23 between a conduit 79 connecting the upper portion of the sole channel and the lower portion is maintained closed. The control valve 23 is operated in conjunction with a valve 22 closing the conduit 52 of the waste heat gases. The arrangement includes a lever member 24 pivoted at 25 and pivotally connected to a spindle 27 which operates the waste heat valve 22, The stroke of the valve 23 is adjustable by moving the location of the bearing 25.

The air or the lean gas, respectively, goes through the lower portion 4 of the sole channel and then is diverted substantially degrees by the curved portion 8 of the partition wall 7 into the upper sole channel portion 5. From there the gases under the control of the sliding plates 6-4 go through the opening 68 thereof into the regenerator cells 13, heating fiues 16, through the openings 17 which are calibrated by the sliding bricks 19, and into the upper horizontal channel 18.

From the horizontal channel 18 the combustion gases go over the symmetrically precalibrated upper ends of the downfiow heating fiues 16' through the level staged openings 15, the binder channels 14 and the regenerator cells 13 to the combination plates 64,

The sliding plate 70 on the assembly is adjusted so that the openings 68 are sufiicient for uniform flow into the upper portion of the sole channel 5'. The waste gases are forced to flow to the enter of the oven in this portion and then down to the lower portion 4 and through the valve 22'to the conduit 54 and the waste heat chambers 2' and then into a chimney (not shown).

The valve 23 is opened when the valve 22 is opened and a portion of the flow is directed as indicated by arrow 79'. The quantities of gas flowing through the oven system are indicated by the width of the stream lines 30 and the direction of flow by the arrow 80.

The cross-sections of the channels are dimensioned in a way that the speed of the horizontal flow next to the oven center both at the top and bottom of the oven is the same regardless of the real quantity of gas used for each coking time. A special feature of the controlling system lies in the fact that the fine adjustment and the distribution of the fuel through the sliding plates 64, 11 and 11" can be adjusted so that the controlling pressure loss throughout the system is much less than heretofore and the flow of gases is maintained more uniform.

The operation of the oven is more simplified due to the easy adjustments which may be made from the exterior by the sliding plate arrangement. The sliding plates being preferably adjustable in two direction giving an additional fine regulation for the preferred heating of the oven heads without requiring too much 0perational service as needed for the conventional type of ovens known heretofore. An additional fine regulation of each heating flue is further provided by the regulation bricks which are arranged above each heating flue at the points where the precalibrated openings end in the upper horizontal channel. This combination of arrangement according to the invention allows an optimal temperature distribution in a coke oven in .a very simple manner and without requiring too much operational service even with extremely difficult cokingrates.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and desoribed in detail to illustrate the application of the invention principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A regenerative coke oven including wall means defining a plurality of adjacent vertically elongated regenerator cells connected to flues at their upper ends, a sole channel disposed beneath all of the cells, and a substantially horizontal wall dividing the sole channel for horizontal flow from one direction to the end thereof and then for reverse horizontal flow on the opposite side of said wall in the opposite direction, a combination sliding grate disposed between said sole channel and said cells including a base portion having a plurality of spaced openings for gas flow and being spaced from the interior wall of said oven at one end to define an end flow path around said base portion at this end, and a sliding closure portion disposed above the base portion and relatively slidable in respect thereto to vary the size of said openings for gas flow .from said sole channel to said regenerator cells.

2. A regenerative coke oven according to claim 1, wherein said combination sliding grate includes a base member comprising a plurality of bricks slidably supported on said wall means.

3. A regenerative coke oven according to claim 1, wherein said combination sliding grate includes a base member having a central web with a plurality of longitudinally spaced openings, and a plate member slidable on said Web and including a similar number of longitudinally spaced openings separated by solid web portions for closing a predetermined area of the openings of said base member.

4. A regenerative coke oven comprising a foundation, Wall means defining a central partition, a horizontally elongated sole channel above said foundation on each side of said partition, a plurality of Vertically elongated regenerator cells above said sole channels, heating flues above said regenerator cells, wall means defining a horizontal channel between said flues and thetop of said oven, a horizontal dividing wall extending inwardly from each end of said oven dividing said sole channels into upper and lower portions, means for directing heating gases and waste heat gases to the lower portion of said sole channels for flow therealong on one side of said dividing wall and for reverse flow therealong on the opposite side of said dividing wall, and adjustable grate means disposed between the upper portion of said sole channels and said regenerator cells including a base grate member having a plurality of openings and a plate member slidable on said base grate member.

15. A regenerative coke oven according to claim 4, including means for selectively directing waste heat gases and heating gases to the lower portion of one of said sole channels and for directing waste gases outwardly from the other of said sole channels.

6. A regenerative coke oven according to claim 4, including a plurality of waste heat gas chambers defined in said foundation and means connecting said chambers to the inlet of said sole channel on the upflow side and to the outlet of said sole channel on the downflow side.

7. A regenerative coke oven according to claim 6 including bypass conduit means interconnecting the upper and lower portions of the sole channel on at least one side. c 1

8. A regenerative coke oven comprising wall means defining side-by-side regenerative oven portions longitudinally and vertically elongated and divided by a central partition wall, a sole channel defined at the lower end of each of said oven portions and including a horizotal wall dividing said sole channels for horizontal flow therethrough, first in one direction on one side of said Wall to said partition and then in a reverse direction on the opposite side of said wall, a plurality of vertically elongated regenerator cells disposed above each of said sole channels, a plurality of flues in communication with each of the regenerator cells each of said flues having adjustable calibrated openings, and a combination sliding grate disposed between each of said sole channels and the plurality of said regenerator cells and including a base portion having a plurality of spaced openings and a plate slidable on said base portion for selectively closing said openings.

9. A regenerative coke oven according to claim 8, including means for cyclically directing waste heat and heating gases to the lower portion of the respective sole channels for flow upwardly through said combination grate, regenerator cells, flue, and downwardly on the opposite side of said partition wall through the respective portions, and including a discharge connecting one of said sole channels for said waste heat gases.

10. A regenerative coke oven including wall means defining a plurality of adjacent vertically elongated regenerator cells connected to flues at their upper ends, said flues defining openings therethrough for gas, a sole channel disposed beneath all of the cells, and a substantially horizontal wall dividing the sole channel for horizontal flow from one direction to the end thereof and then for reverse horizontal flow on the opposite side of said wall in the opposite direction, a combination sliding grate disposed between said sole channel and said cells including a base portion having a plurality of spaced openings for gas flow and being spaced from the interior wall of said oven at one end to define an end flow path around said base portion at this end, a sliding closure portion disposed above the base portion and relatively slidable in respect thereto to vary the size of said openings for gas flow from said sole channel to said regenerator cells, and means operatively associated with said flues for varying the gas openings therethrough.

11. A regenerative coke oven including wall means defining a plurality of adjacent vertically elongated regenerator cells connected to flues at their upper ends, a solechannel disposed beneath all of the cells, a substantially horizontal wall dividing the sole channel for horizontal flow from one direction to the end thereof and then for reverse horizontal flow on the opposite side of said wall in the opposite direction, a combination sliding grate disposed between said sole channel and said cells including a base portion having a plurality of spaced openings for gas flow and being spaced from the interior wall of said oven at one end to define an end flow path around said base portion at this end, a sliding closure portion disposed above the base portion ad relatively slid-able in respect thereto to vary the size of said openings for gas flow from said sole channel to said regenerator cells, said fiues defining openings for the passage of gas through said fines, and a plurality of sliding brick members arranged in alignment with said gas openings of said fiues and being relatively slidable to vary the openings for the passage of gas through said flues.

12. A regenerator coke oven comprising a foundation, wall means defining a central partition, a horizontally elongated sole channel above said foundation on each side of said partition, a plurality of vertically elongated regenerator cells above said sole channels, heating flues above said regenerator cells, wall means defining a horizontal channel between said lines and the top of said oven, a horizontal dividing wall extending inwardly from each end of said oven dividing said sole channels into upper and lower portions, means for directing heating gases and waste heat gases to the lower portion of said sole channels for flow therealong on one side of said dividing wall and for reverse flow therealong on the opposite side of said dividing wall, adjustable grate means disposed between the upper portion of said sole channels and said regenerator cells including a base grate member having a plurality of openings and a plate member slidable on said base grate member, said fines defining gas flow openings, and means operatively associated with said heating fiues for adjusting the gas flow openings of said fiues.

13. A regenerative coke oven comprising a foundation, wall means defining a central partition, a horizontally 6'} u elongated sole channel above said foundation on each side of said partition, a plurality of vertically elongated regenerator cells above said sole channels, heating fiues above said regenerator cells, wall means defining a horizontal channel between said fiues and the top of said oven, a horizontal dividing wall extending inwardly from each end of said oven dividing said sole channels into upper and lower portions, means for directing heating gases and waste heat gases to the lower portion of said sole channels for flow therealong on one side of said dividing wall and for reverse flow therealong on the opposite side of said dividing wall, adjustable grate means disposed between the upper portion of said sole channels ad said regenerator cells on the upflow and downfiow sides of said oven including a base grate member having a plurality of openings and a plate member slidable on said base grate member, said flues defining openings for the passage of gas therethrough, and means associated with said flues for adjusting the openings of said flues.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES FATENTS 2,672,437 3/54 Otto 202151 2,863,807 12/58 Van Ackeren 202-142 2,872,385 2/59 Hartewig et a1. 202141 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,965 1912 Great Britain. 472,679 2/ 29 Germany. 504,113 7/ 30 Germany. 685,690 7/ 30 France. 867,842 2/ 5 3 Germany. 1,021,567 2/53 France.

699,505 11/53 Great Britain. 798,493 7/58 Great Britain.

MORRIS O. WOLK, Primary Examiner.

ALPHONSO D. SULLIVAN, DELBERT E. GANTZ,

, Examiners. 

1. A REGENERATIVE COKE OVEN INCLUDING WALL MEANS DEFINING A PLURALITY OF ADJACENT VERTICALLY ELONGATED REGENERATOR CELLS CONNECTED TO FLUES AT THEIR UPPER ENDS, A SOLE CHANNEL DISPOSED BENEATH ALL OF THE CELLS, AND A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL WALL DIVIDING THE SOLE CHANNEL FOR HORIZONTAL FLOW FROM ONE DIRECTION TO THE END THEREOF AND THEN FOR REVERSE HORIZONTAL FLOW ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF SAID WALL IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, A COMBINATION SLIDING GRATE DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID SOLE CHANNEL AND SAID CELLS INCLUDING A BASE PORTION HAVING A PLURALITY OF SPACED OPENINGS FOR GAS FLOW AND BEING SPACED FROM THE INTERIOR WALL OF SAID OVEN AT ONE END TO DEFINE AN END FLOW PATH AROUND SAID BASE PORTION AT THIS END, AND A SLIDING CLOSURE PORTION DISPOSED ABOVE THE BASE PORTION AND RELATIVELY SLIDABLE IN RESPECT THERETO TO VARY THE SIZE 